Jason Denayer reportedly turned down a return to the Premier League with West Ham United or Leicester City and, speaking to Het Nieuwsblad, he explains why he came to such a decision.
The Belgian international has certainly gone on to bigger and better things since that ill-fated loan spell at Sunderland in the 2016/17 season. But those scars remain.
According to 90Min, Denayer turned down the chance to kick-start his career on English soil following his release from Lyon in July. There was interest from West Ham, Leicester City, Bournemouth and now-managerless Wolves, before he made a shock move to the Middle East instead.
Denayer signed a short-term deal with Shabab Al-Ahli last week.
Jason Denayer turns down Premier League return
“I’m 27 and I have a one-year contract in Dubai,” says Denayer, who hopes to be included in Belgium’s squad for the Qatar World Cup. “What’s the problem? There are so many players who made such a transfer and came back afterwards and performed well in Europe.
“The real reason; when I was still playing at Manchester City, the club loaned me out to Sunderland. I made that transfer because the club asked me to. We were relegated from the Premier League. We played all the time not to lose. I became very unhappy with that.
“I learned a lesson from that. The clubs who wanted me weren’t teams that were aiming for a Europe. And I absolutely want to play to win trophies.”
When Denayer was weighing up his next move, both West Ham and Leicester were stuck in the Premier League’s relegation zone, with Wolves and Bournemouth only a couple of rungs up the ladder.
“Shabab Al-Ahli are very ambitious,” adds the experienced defender, who played under Hammers boss David Moyes during that scarring stint at Sunderland.
“They play the Asian Champions League and see me as a key player. It’s a good project. I could earn a lot more (money) in Europe.
“There was also a more offer financially attractive from Saudi Arabia but I turned it down. I’m not doing this for the money. But because it’s a top club and because the quality of life in Dubai is very high.”
Both West Ham and Leicester picked up morale-boosting wins this weekend. Jarrod Bowen was back to his sparkling best in a 2-0 win against Wolves; a result that cost Bruno Lage his job. James Maddison then inspired Leicester’s 4-0 thumping of Midland rivals Nottingham Forest on Monday.
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